Tech stocks start week with strong gains

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — Tech stocks put in a strong start to week Monday, with a billion-dollar acquisition from Cisco Systems Inc. and Intel Corp.’s announcement that its chief executive will soon retire taking the day’s spotlight.

Cisco shares
CSCO, +0.42%
rose 31 cents to close at $18.30 after the networking-equipment giant said it would pay $1.2 billion for Meraki, a provider of cloud-networking technology. Meraki specializes in technology that lets customers use cloud services to manage Wi-Fi, switching, security and mobile device. See: Cisco buying networking firm Meraki

In addition to Cisco, other networking stocks rose. Oclaro Inc.
OCLR, -2.54%
shares were up more than 20%, JDS Uniphase Corp.
JDSU, +0.27%
ended the day with a gain of 2.3%, at $11.05 and Finisar Corp.
FNSR, -0.34%
shares rose more than 7%, to close at $12.07.

Reuters

Paul Otellini, president and CEO of Intel Corp., is stepping down in May.

Intel
INTC, +0.14%
shares edged up by 6 cents to close at $20.25 after the world’s largest semiconductor company said CEO Paul Otellini will step down in May 2013. Intel didn’t name a successor for Otellini, who has been with the company for almost four decades and CEO since early 2005. See: Intel faces mobile challenge as Otellini exits

The Nasdaq Composite Index
COMP, -0.01%
rose almost 63 points, or 2.2%, to close at 2,916. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index
SOX, -1.20%
and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index
MSH, -0.20%
each closed with a gain of 2%.

Groupon Inc.
GRPN, +0.21%
shares rose more than 4%, to close at $3.11. The daily deal company confirmed that its Israeli site had been hacked by a group that posted messages warning Israeli soldiers to not launch a ground attack against Gaza.

Among big-name tech stocks, Apple Inc.
AAPL, -0.87%
shares rose more than 7% after Topeka Capital Markets analyst Brian White said in a research note that the recent selloff in Apple’s stock was “insanely insane.” White reiterated his buy rating and $1,111-a-share price target on Apple’s stock.

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